The Hillsboro High School boys tennis team placed fourth out of seven teams Thursday in the Hillsboro Invitational.
Grant Shewey defeated Greg Rader of Chapman, 8-2, in the opening round of the No. 1 singles bracket. He also defeated Ross Rasmussen of Conway Springs, 8-5, before losing to Jordan Stewart of Sterling, 8-1, in the finals to place second.
The No. 1 doubles team of Harry Faber and Daniel Gray began play by defeating Chapman, 8-5. They lost to Hutch Trinity in the semifinals, 8-2, and to Sterling in the third-place game, finishing fourth.
Jarod Hamm defeated David Prosch of Chapman, 8-0, in the opening round of the No. 2 singles bracket. Hamm lost to Eric Banning of Hutch Trinity in the semifinals, 8-3, but rebounded in the third-place match to defeat Shane Wheeler of Sterling, 8-1.
The No. 2 doubles team of Jeff Pritchard and Tyler Funk began the tournament with a loss to Hutch Trinity, 8-0, but put together victories over Smoky Valley, 8-6, and Chapman, 8-1, to finish in fifth place.
Also competing in the No. 2 doubles bracket was the team of Diego Castillo and Nodari Lomidze. They posted a record of 0-3 for the day with losses to Sterling, 8-0; Chapman, 8-1; and Smoky Valley, 8-6.
Smoky Valley
The Trojans finished fourth out of eight teams April 5 in the Ron Dahlsten Tennis Classic at Smoky Valley High School.
Shewey finished fifth in the singles tournament. He defeated Lian Kahmeyer of Pratt, 8-5, but lost to Conner Chambers of Smoky Valley in the second round, 8-6. He then defeated teammate Hamm, 8-4, and Keegan LeFevre of Hesston, 8-5.
“Grant almost was in the semifinals, losing a close match 8-6 that would have put him in the final four,” coach Stuart Holmes said. “But, he continued to play well enough to earn the fifth place medal after going 3-1 on the day.”
Hamm finished seventh. He defeated Kaynan Anderson of Abilene, 8-1, but lost to Quinn Dippel of Smoky Valley, 8-0, in the second round. After losing to Shewey, he defeated Thomas Mayberry of Pratt, 8-3.
The doubles team of Faber and Gray lost to a team from Smoky Valley in the first round, 8-7. They then went on to defeat a team from Pratt, 8-4, a second team from Smoky Valley, 8-4, and a team from Abilene, 8-7.
“The doubles team of Harry and Daniel played well after a very close first round match where they lost in a tiebreaker,” Holmes said. “Harry and Daniel went on to win the consolation bracket and medal with a 3-1 record for the day, coming from behind to win a tiebreaker in the consolation finals.”
The doubles team of Lomidze and Pritchard lost in the first round to a Smoky Valley team, 8-0, and then lost in the second round to a team from Abilene, 8-0.
“The guys had a good day with three of our four entries having a lot of success,” Holmes said. “Even our No. 2 doubles team of Nodari Lomidze and Jeff Pritchard, who are both new to varsity tennis, were competitive, almost winning their last match, which went to a tiebreaker.”
The Trojans play again 10 a.m. April 26 at Hesston.